This small Roman Catholic church perched on the very edge of the River Liffey was opened in 1863. One of its primary purposes was to minister to the dock workers and merchants who lived in this area, as well as to the sailors passing through.
Its design is a simple Gothic hall with a single gable (peak in the roof) facing the street. The main entrance features some brightly colored mosaic work showcasing an image of Mary.
The exterior was nicely decorated, despite the overall smallish size of the church. Interestingly, you can see that in the sculptures, the perfect heart of Christ is illustrated by a heart shape with rays coming out from behind it. Mary is also depicted as having that same perfect heart, placing her on an equal level with Christ.
While I had a hard time discovering any more history about this building, it is apparent that it is frequently used. There are services here twice a day, every day of the week, and when I visited in the middle of the day, there were quite a few school children working on some sort of program.
This shrine at the back was a tad bit creepy feeling – I found I much prefer unpainted sculptures!
Here is the large window at the back of the church (which looks out over the street entrance), and beside it, the pipe organ. The stained glass seemed quite lovely.
Glad I stopped by this little church!
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